In reply to Ethel Garrett.

Definitely fewer. My husband, who WAS a lay deacon, feels that this resolution is a slap in the face to all of the pastors and district staff that instructed and guided him and many others through the lay ministry program. It's as if all those years and hours of instruction weren't good enough in the eyes of the LCMS. This resolution does, in fact, affect the availability of lay deacons in districts, because a vast number of lay deacons will be unable to, logistically or financially, attend seminary in order to complete an SMP program. As of July 12, 2016, my husband's prayer is for God to guide him into other areas to serve God's people, and to be brutally honest, it may not be in an LCMS setting.